Woman rescued after six hours in water at Smith Mountain Lake

By Dave Thompson

Published: July 23, 2008

A Roanoke woman is out of the hospital after she spent nearly six hours in the water at Smith Mountain Lake on Sunday morning, authorities said.

Capt. Al Busch with Smith Mountain Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue said the emergency call came around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, from Mango’s Bar & Grill at the Bridgewater Plaza, in Franklin County.

Sgt. Karl Martin, district supervisor with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said the woman had apparently gone swimming shortly before the call.

Martin said a friend with her at the time made the emergency call after he couldn’t find her in the water.

Busch said the man told him he tried to help the woman out of the water by throwing a life preserver to her.

According to Busch, the man said he thought the life ring may have hit her in the head, and when he didn’t see her in the water anymore, he ran to Mango’s to make the call.

Busch said the response included three fireboats, rescue divers from the lake fire and rescue company, the Scruggs Rescue Squad, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin County Department of Public Safety, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

In all, he said, about 40 rescue and law enforcement personnel were on the scene.

“I’ve been on the lake a long time, and that’s the most I’ve ever seen respond to an emergency like this,” he said.

The fire company also brought in their Video Ray robotic submarine. Workers on the fireboats were equipped with million candlepower flashlights and night vision goggles.

Busch said the divers were allowed to leave at about 5 a.m., after their searches proved fruitless, but planned to come back to aid the search, if they were still needed.

The fire company left three operators with the Video Ray sub, while most of the remaining rescue workers left to rest.

Busch said about 6:30, a fisherman was trolling his boat near the waterwheel marina, a little over a quarter mile from the search area, on the Bedford County side of the lake’s main channel.

“He heard a faint cry for help, and he looked over and he saw this head in the water,” Busch said. “He came over and threw her a cushion to hold onto, and she just put her head on it.”

The fisherman initially tried to help the woman out of the water with the help of one of his friends, but unable to lift her, he drove his boat over to the three lake firefighters still operating the Video Ray.

Two of them jumped into the boat with the fisherman, who took them to the woman. They pulled her from the water, administering first aid and oxygen.

Busch said the woman was not wearing a life jacket at the time.

“Thank God that she was found alive,” he said. “How she ended up over there and not being heard or seen through the evening is a mystery.”

Martin said the incident is still under investigation, but officials don’t suspect foul play.

“In hot, humid weather, it’s not unusual for people to go into the water that late at night,” he said.

The strangest part, he said, is how long she apparently stayed in the water and still survived.

“It’s an extremely long time for a person to be in the water,” Martin said.